Newtown chief: Bushmaster a "killing machine"

Bill Cummings

Published 11:08 pm, Friday, March 1, 2013

HARTFORD -- Newtown Police Chief Michael Kehoe on Friday said the Bushmaster assault rifle used during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings is nothing more than a "killing machine" that should be banned in Connecticut.

To illustrate how dangerous the Bushmaster is, Kehoe said locked doors, teacher interference and the arrival of police delayed Adam Lanza's rapid firing by just a few seconds, and that was enough to save lives.

"Our response saved lives. The teacher's response saved lives. All that took precious seconds. Every precious second meant a precious life was saved," Kehoe said.

The Sandy Hook Commission, charged by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy with making recommendations on gun control, school security and mental health issues, heard a variety of testimony Friday and received a tutorial from a State Police officer on different types of guns.

Several police chiefs said the Bushmaster is legal under the state's current assault weapon ban because manufacturers make minor adjustments to weapons to skirt the law.

Those changes include locking the rifle stock so it does not collapse, removing bayonet holders, redesigning how the gun releases gas after firing and altering how a user holds the weapon so it doesn't have a "pistol grip."

"I don't know how you chase the idea of what an assault weapon is," said South Windsor Police Chief Matthew Reed, referring to how "loopholes" in laws allow weapons to be legal.

"We can control the permitting process, and that may be our strongest defense," Reed said.

Reed and other police chiefs said permits should be required to purchase any gun. Police chiefs should be allowed to consider the "suitability" of an applicant when deciding whether a permit should be issued.

Police can now consider information about past criminal history and other routine data when issuing a handgun permit.

Factors such as who else lives in an applicant's home or the person's past non-felony interactions with police cannot be considered, the chiefs said.

"They do a background check but don't identify you through fingerprints," Reed said.

"Suitability is not considered for a pistol permit. It can have an impact on who possesses a weapon."